If you are older than twenty, have never seen a live opera performance, and generally have had little or no exposure to opera, my advice would be not to bother about getting tickets - for now. Seriously. There are dozens of pitfalls, and the only way to find out what they are is to get some knowledge first. (The knowledge part is surprisingly easy, by the way, but that's not the point right now).
And yet, there are folks out there who suddenly get the urge to see a live performance just to get a feel of what it's like. I don't blame them. Apart from symphony halls, opera is the only place on earth today where you can actually hear live music. All other types of music (including operatic recordings) make use of electricity in one way or another. The idea of a "live" concert today is a joke. Sound gets fractioned, diced, reassembled, edited, and fed to the listener through speakers. Processed sound can give the listener a gist of what the real thing is like, but one must not expect it to even remotely resemble the soulful warmth of human singers accompanied by a live orchestra - opera. No microphones. No amplifiers. No speakers.
So, yes, the idea is very tempting. If you feel you have to - hear me, hear me.
Do not listen to folks who have been opera buffs for years and now would like to share their wisdom with you. The rule of thumb is if a person tells you something about opera without explaining it, and you just don't get it, you shouldn't listen to them. They don't know what they're talking about. Their recommendations might turn you away from opera - forever. That's not what you want. There are only sixteen great operas in the entire history of the genre, written by five composers. Of those, only two are perfect. (Don't let it get around unless you wish to be laughed at - because it's true; and the truth strikes most people as comical these days).
Listen. The two perfect operas are "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi and "Tosca" by Giacomo Puccini. (I repeat - don't let it get around unless you wish to be ridiculed). Before you go ahead and get the tickets, read their libretti (not just the stories, but the entire book). Opera libretti are fairly short. You can read one in less than thirty minutes ("Rigoletto" reads in about twenty, and "Tosca" in about fifteen, but read them carefully, and read them twice or three times).
Get your hands one some recordings. You can get a pretty good idea of the so-called highlights by purchasing a highlights CD's. Listen to the highlights. If you have no experience paying CLOSE ATTENTION to music (i.e. you have been conditioned by today's popular culture's paradigm to perceive music as pleasant background noise), it's okay. Just turn it on and do whatever - wash dishes, look out the window, talk on the phone. Let your ear get accustomed to the strains.
Do not settle for anything else. Both Verdi and Puccini wrote a whole bunch of other operas, some of which are pretty impressive - magnificent, in fact. You're not ready for them, though. Only "Rigoletto" and "Tosca" will do.
Godspeed.
Download Ricardo's astounding "Getting Opera - become an opera expert in less than three hours," a unique audio guide.
Ricardo is also the author of fiction and non-fiction books, among them "A Fat Girl's Guide to Thinness and Happiness," "Jenna Jameson: the Robber Chief," "The Kept Women of New Orleans," "In Bed with the President," and others. All of his books are available on the Mighty Niche Books company site.
Source: www.isnare.com
